Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship - Preview

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23 Leveraging Resources for Growth

investments made in the course of company expansions. Instead, the bets referred to here are later investments with a substantial impact on the trajectory of a company. The most signi fi cant was the decision by Pilatus Aircraft to invest a sum estimated to have been about CHF 500 million for the development of a new executive jet, PC-24, with the effect of eventually doubling the company ’ s business. This choice, requiring investments over many years with an uncertain outcome, was certainly courageous. 13 Other companies who entered into major investments changing the course for their business are included below. • Thermoplan , investing a signi fi cant amount of the founder ’ s savings at that time into a fully automatic coffee machine for use in hospitality. • Datamars , taking up new capital to expand into the veterinary segment for its identi fi cation business. • Jura , ceasing its production of household and kitchen appliances to invest in a fully automatic espresso machine for in-home use. • Geistlich , leaving the old-fashioned bone processing business to invest in natural bone enhancement material for dental surgeries. • Lantal , making signi fi cant investments and acquiring capacity to produce materials for passenger aircraft and ground transport interiors. • Selectron, placing signi fi cant investments into the development of in-train elec- tronic controls. • EAO, stepping out of the transformer business and investing all of its resources to build the pushbutton business.

The full stories behind these investments are contained in the company pro fi les of each fi rm.

Resurrected Companies

A fi nal mention is earned by a few companies that were saved from certain decline and resurrected by new owners or management, making the companies blossom again, often reaching new heights. In the company pro fi les, close attention was paid to these ups and downs, and the resurrection of two companies are detailed — these fi rms would almost certainly have disappeared without the intervention of new ownership. • Selectron , targeted for shutdown by its owner Schneider Group, who had acquired the unwanted business in the course of a number of acquisitions, was resurrected by new management when entering the in-train electronic control

13 For more details of this investment, see Pilatus company pro fi le.